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Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. (Hingot): A review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and

r ticle pharmacological properties A J. P. Yadav, Manju Panghal Department of Genetics, M.D. University, Rohtak - 124 001, Haryana, India

Balanites aegyptiaca is an evergreen, woody, true xerophytic tree of tremendous medicinal importance. It belongs to the family Balanitaceae and is distributed throughout the drier parts of India. B. aegyptiaca has been used in a variety of folk medicines in India eview and Asia. Various parts of the plant are used in Ayurvedic and other folk medicines for the treatment of different ailments such as

R syphilis, jaundice, liver and spleen problems, epilepsy, yellow fever and the plant also has insecticidal, antihelminthic, antifeedant, molluscicidal and contraceptive activities. Research has been carried out using different in vitro and in vivo techniques of biological evaluation to support most of these claims. This review presents the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of this medicinal plant.

Key words: Antibacterial, Balanites aegyptiaca, desert date, pharmacological properties, saponins, traditional uses

INTRODUCTION sticky pulp and a hard stone seed. Seeds are found exalbuminous and embryo is with thick plano-convex, Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. belongs to the family or two-lobed cotyledons and a superior radical.[4] Balanitaceae. It is a multibranched, evergreen tree distributed throughout the drier parts of India.[1] It is Traditionally, various parts of B. aegyptiaca have been widely grown in the Sudano-Sahielian region of Africa, reported to possess medicinal properties in different the Middle East and South Asia.[2] It is known by various ethnobotanical surveys.[1,5-8] It finds its place in the names, e.g. Arabic names: Heglig (tree), lalob (fruit); Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia of India and has also trade name: zaccone, zachun, desert date (dried fruit);[3] been described in some monographs, but none have in India: Hindi name is Hingot and English name is described the complete traditional uses, phytochemistry thorn tree/desert date.[4] and pharmacology of this plant. Therefore, we have compiled an up-to-date and comprehensive review of B. B. aegyptiaca is a mutibranched, spiny shrub or tree aegyptiaca that covers its traditional uses, phytochemistry which grows up to 10 m in height. The leaves are and pharmacological properties. alternate, two foliate, petioles are 3–6 mm long, leaflets are elliptic and have broadly pointed petioles up to 5 TRADITIONAL USES mm long. The spines of the plant are simple, straight, stout, rigid, green, alternate, supraaxillary, up to 5 cm Various parts of B. aegyptiaca have their own traditional long. Inflorescence is supraaxillary clusters or rarely medicinal properties. This plant has been reported to supracemose. The flowers are small, bisexual, greenish be an antihelminthic, a purgative, vermifuge, febrifuge, white, fragrant, in axillary clusters, few or many in emetic and can also cure other types of ailments like number, cymes or fascicles. The sepals are five in skin boils, leucoderma, malaria, wounds, colds, syphilis, number (free), ovate and 3 mm long. The petals are liver and spleen disorders, and aches.[6] The bark of five in number (two free), oblong-obovate, longer than the plant is useful in curing mental diseases, epilepsy, the sepals. The stamens are ten in number, filaments yellow fever, jaundice and syphilis and can also act as glabrous, and anthers are dorsifixed. The ovary is ovoid, a fumigant to heal circumcision wounds.[6] The boiled silky, five-celled and ovules are solitary in each cell, the root of the plant can be used as a soup against stomach style is short and conical. Fruit is an ovoid drupe, 2–5.6 pain, anthrax, and the infusion of root also acts as an cm long, found on a short thick stalk, and is faintly antidote to snake bite.[5] The infusion of root bark has five grooved. The ripe fruit is brown or pale brown been used in diarrhoea, in haemorrhoid and also acts [8] www.greenpharmacy.info with a brittle coat enclosing a brown or brown-green as a fish poison. The paste of shoot has been used for

Address for correspondence: Prof. J. P. Yadav, H. No. 339, Sector-14, Rohtak - 124 001, Haryana, India. E-mail: [email protected] Received: 26-05-2009; Accepted: 26-06-2010; DOI: 10.4103/0973-8258.69158

| July-September 2010 | International Journal of Green Pharmacy 140 Yadav and Panghal: Balanites aegyptiaca: A review dressing of wounds and as tooth brushes when frayed. The (C30).[9] Saponin containing plants are used in folk medicine, thorns are used in the treatment of leprosy. Plant leaves are especially in Asia, and are intensively used in food, used in curing anthrax, for their antihelminthic activities veterinary and medical industries. B. aegyptiaca contains and to clean malignant wounds.[6] The fruit can cure mouth different types of saponins, namely, balanitin -1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ulcer, whooping cough, sleeping sickness and skin diseases. 6 and 7 [Figure 1]. The phytochemical description of the Fruit kernel has been found as a mild laxative, an antidote different parts is given below. to arrow poison, and also acts as a vermifuge.[5] Kernel oil helps in curing skin disease.[1] The seeds are useful as Root ointments, to cure cough, colic pain and also have magico- Balanitin 1, 2 and 3, alkaloids and diosgenin have been religious properties.[5,8] isolated from the East African specimen.[10-12] Diosgenin is a steroidal sapogenin (5-spirostan-3-ol) compound which PHYTOCHEMISTRY is very useful in pharmaceutical industries as a natural source of steroidal hormones.[13] Balanites roxburghii is an The phytochemistry of its root, stem bark, leaves, fruit pulp, alternative source of diosgenin.[14] The Indian species (B. seed kernel, and mesocarp has been studied by different roxburghii) contains the lowest level of both diosgenin and workers. B. aegyptiaca is a rich source of saponins. Saponins oil.[15-17] The root wood of the plant contains Balanitism H.[14] are glycosides consisting of sugar residues (one or more units of glucose, galactose, etc.) linked through oxygen Stem Bark with complex multiring compounds usually containing Balanitol (a new sesquiterpene) and the saponins, deltonin 27–31 carbon atoms. The aglycone part, which is also and protodeltonin, have been isolated from the bark of the called sapogenin, is either a steroid (C27) or a triterpene Indian species (B. roxburghii).[18] Furanocoumarin, bergapten

a b Figure 1: (a) Chemical structure of balanitin 1, 2, 3, and 4 isolated from different parts of B. aegytptiaca; (b) Chemical structure of balanitin 5, 6 and 7 isolated from different parts of B. aegyptiaca

141 International Journal of Green Pharmacy | July-September 2010 | Yadav and Panghal: Balanites aegyptiaca: A review and a dihydrofuranocoumarin (marmesin) have been isolated from the chloroform extract of the stem bark.[19] Balanitin 1, 2 and 3 have been isolated from East African species of B. aegyptiaca while diosgenin and sugars (glucose and rhamnose in the ratio 3:1) have been isolated from the Indian species (B. roxburghii).[10,20] Dicholoromethane extract has yielded two types of alkaloids N-trans-feruloyltyramine and N-cis-feruloyltyramine [Figure 2] and other metabolites like vanillic acid, syringic acid and 3 hydroxy-1-(4- hydroxy-3 methoxyphenyl)-1-propanone.[21]

Stem Wood Balanitism 1 was isolated from the stem wood of the Indian species of Balanites (B. roxburghii).[14] Figure 2: Structure of two alkaloids isolated from stem bark Leaf Six flavonides, glycosides identified as quercetin compound responsible for pharmacological properties and 3-glucosides, quercetin 3-rutinoside, 3-glucoside, sources of information are shown in Figure 3. 3-glucosides, 3-rutinoside, 3-7 diglucoside and 3-rhamnogalactosides of isorhamnetin have been Insecticidal Activity extracted and identified from the leaves and branches B. aegyptiaca acts as a potential natural larvicidal agent of the Egyptian plant species.[22] against mosquito larvae due to the larvicidal activities present in the saponin rich extracts in the various tissues Fruit such as fruit pulp, kernel, root, bark and leaf.[33-37] The The fruit of B. aegyptaica consists of an epicarp, a mesocarp, water extracts of fruit kernel of B. aegyptiaca were found an endocarp and a kernel.[23] The total saponin content to be effective against the larvae of Aedes arabiensis, Culex has been found to be 7.2% in the mesocarp and 6.7% quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti and it was concluded that in the kernel.[24] Balanitin A, B, C, D, E and Balanitin A. arabiensis larvae were the most susceptible, followed by F and G have been isolated from pulp and kernel, C. quinquefasciatus and then A. aegypti.[33] The root extract respectively.[14,25] The oil extracted from the kernel constituted of the plant was found to be most lethal, followed by the 44–51% w/w and is composed of mainly triglycerides, with bark among the various parts tested (fruit pulp, seed kernel, small quantities of diglycerides, phytosterols, sterol esters root, bark and leaves).[35,36] On the basis the very low adult and tocopherols.[26] Besides, a known spirostanol glycoside, balanitin-3, and a new sapogenol, 6-methyldiosgenin, a emergence (only 18%) on using only 50 ppm of the root new furostanol saponin, balanitoside and two pregnane derived callus , saponins of B. aegyptiaca showed a great glycosides have been isolated from the fruits (mesocarp) possibility for drastically reducing the A. aegypti population [38] of B. aegyptiaca.[27-29] Spectroscopic and chemical analysis in the concerned areas. The main reason behind the suggested the structure of the glycoside as 26-O-β-d- larvicidal activity of plant extract may be the interaction glucopyranosyl-3β,22,26-trihydroxy-furost-ene, 3-O-α-l- of saponin molecules with cuticle membrane of the larvae, [39] rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-d- ultimately disarranging these. glucopyranoside and the saponins present in the mesocarp of B. aegyptiaca fruit are a mixture of 22R and 22S epimers of Antimicrobial Activity 26-(O-β-d-glucopyranosyl)-3-β-[4-O-(β-d-glucopyranosyl)- Different studies were carried out to determine the 2-O-(α-l-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-d-glucopyranosyloxy]-22,26- antibacterial and antifungal activities of whole plant, dihydroxyfurost-5-ene.[30] root bark, stem bark, fruit mesocarp and leaves of B. aegyptiaca.[40-46] Seeds The seeds of B. aegyptiaca yielded four new cytostatic saponins, Antibacterial activity namely, balanitins 4, 5, 6 and 7.[31] Seeds of B. aegyptiaca The leaf extracts of B. aegyptiaca, prepared in aqueous and also contain deltonin and isodeltonin (steroidal spirostanol organic solvents (acetone and ethanol), were tested for their glycosides) which are used as molluscicidal agents.[32] antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, by using the disc diffusion method. Ethanolic extracts demonstrated PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES higher antibacterial activity (16 mm zone of inhibition) while the aqueous extracts showed the least activity The pharmacological activity, parts used, constituent (4 mm zone of inhibition) at 100 mg/ml. The preliminary

| July-September 2010 | International Journal of Green Pharmacy 142 Yadav and Panghal: Balanites aegyptiaca: A review

Figure 3: The pharmacological activity, parts used and constituents with sources of information phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of saponins, rich extract has been tested against common phytopathogenic tannins, phenols and anthraquinones in the extracts, and fungi (Pythium ultimum, Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria solani, these were considered for antibacterial activity.[40] Colletotrichum coccodes and Verticillium dahliae). The inhibitory effects of these extracts were measured in vitro and the Methanolic and aqueous extracts of whole plant extract concentrations that reduced the colony diameter of fungus showed 4 mm inhibition zone in Staphylococcus aureus and 11 to 50% of the control were determined. At 4% concentration, [41] mm zone of inhibition in case of Staphylococcus epidermidis. growth inhibitions were reported against P. ultimum (81.1%) The extract of B. aegyptiaca supplemented with a 60–100 and A. solani (34.7%).[45] The antifungal activity may be due mg mineral (kadosero) revealed 100% reduction in bacterial to presence of several triterpene saponins and steroidal colony in untreated well water. Chemical analysis of kadosero saponins in B. aegyptiaca.[46] 2 revealed the presence of SO4 (0.0038 mg/g), Fe (0.0027 mg/g), − + [42] Cl (232.683 mg/g) and Na (151.25 mg/g). Hepatoprotective Activity The extracts of leaf, stem, stem bark and root of B. aegyptiaca Antifungal Activity were screened for hepatoprotective activity in Wistar Aqueous and methanolic (80%) extracts of root bark were albino rats. The stem bark extracts of the plant showed screened for anticandidal activity by bioautography agar significant (P < 0.05) hepatoprotective effects as revealed overlay method, using a standard strain of Candida albicans by a decrease in the activity of serum transaminase and (ATCC 90028). These extracts revealed strong anticandidal alkaline phosphatase enzymes as compared to control activity. The identification of compounds responsible for rats.[5] The effect of lyophilised extracts of B. aegyptiaca the activity was not done.[43] The stem bark extracts isolated (1 g/kg) and silymarin (0.1 g/kg), a standard heptoprotective in various solvents were screened for their antifungal agent, given for 5 consecutive days, was tested on liver effects against Aspergillus niger and C. albicans, and these damage induced by paracetamol (0.6 g/kg) in the mice. extracts also showed high antifungal activity against C. B. aegyptiaca had a relatively modest hepatoprotective albicans (MFC 250 µg/ml).[44] The fruit mesocarp saponin activity (27%) while silymarin protected about 92% of the

143 International Journal of Green Pharmacy | July-September 2010 | Yadav and Panghal: Balanites aegyptiaca: A review treated mice.[47] These results suggest that the extract could The crude methanolic extract has been found to have a protect the paracetamol-induced liver damages perhaps moderate biological activity on Leishmania major in an in by eliminating the deleterious effects of toxic metabolites vitro study.[55] from the drug. Antidiabetic Activity Anticancerous and Antioxidant Activity The bark extract of B. aegyptiaca has been also shown to The mixture of balanitin-6 (28%) and balanitin-7 (72%) was have a moderate effect on the activity of α-amylase which evaluated in vitro for anticancer activity against six different is responsible for the degradation of oligosaccharides.[56] human cancer cell lines, using the [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol- B. aegyptiaca fruit extracts (1.5 g/kg bw) reduced the blood 2yl)-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] colorimetric assay and glucose level by 24% and significantly decreased the liver in vivo in the murine L1210 leukaemia model. The mixture glucose-6-phosphatase activity in diabetic rats.[57] The has demonstrated appreciable anticancer affects in human water and ethanolic extracts of B. aegyptiaca fruit extract cancer cell lines in vitro as it displayed higher antiproliferative induced significant reduction in serum glucose, glucagon, activity than etoposide and oxaliplatin but markedly lesser total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides level and activity than taxol. The in vitro anticancer activities result transaminases [aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine at least partially from depletion of ATP, leading in turn aminotransferase (ALT) and γGT (gamma aminotransferase)] to major disorganisation of actin cytoskeleton, ultimately activities.[58] An aqueous extract of mesocarps of the fruits resulting in the impairment of cancer cell proliferation and of B. aegyptiaca exhibited a prominent antidiabetic activity migration. In vivo, bal6/7 increased the survival time of on oral administration in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice bearing murine L1210 leukaemia grafts to the same mice. It is believed that the antidiabetic activity was due to extent as that reported for vincristine. These preliminary the presence of steroidal saponins in the extracts.[59] in vivo data suggest that it may be possible to generate novel hemi-synthetic derivatives of balanitin-6 and -7 with Anti-inflammatory Activity potentially improved in vitro and in vivo anticancer activity The ethanolic extract of aerial parts of B. aegyptiaca, when and reduced in vivo toxicity, thus markedly improving the given orally as a suspension at 300 mg/kg bw per day, therapeutic ratio.[48] reduced the paw volume by 55.03%, whereas in the case of administration of 600 mg/kg bw per day it was 65.54%, Balanitin B1 and B2, isolated from methanol and butanol indicating that the effect was dose dependant. The significant extracts of B. aegyptiaca bark, have been evaluated in vitro anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in methanolic and in vivo using a method based on the Briggs-Rauscher and ethanolic extracts of the bark in two different animal (BR) oscillating reaction and this revealed the antioxidant models, the carrageenan-induced oedema in the rat, and activity.[49] acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice.[49] Ethanolic extract Antihelminthic and Molluscicidal Activity of fruit of B. aegyptiaca also exhibited a proinflammatory The root, bark, seed kernel, fruit and whole plant extracts activity.[60] The phytochemicals responsible for these were found to be lethal to snails, miracidia and cereariac of activities were found to be flavonoids, saponins B1 and B2 schistosomes in various studies.[50,51] A mixture of deltonin isolated from bark and aerial parts of the plant.[49,61] and 25-isodeltonin extracted from seeds was found to be molluscicidal against snail species Biomphalaria glabrata.[52] CONCLUSION The antihelminthic properties of extract of B. aegyptiaca were compared with those of albendazole and praziquantel.[53,54] B. aegyptiaca is an evergreen tree distributed throughout The efficacy of therapeutics of aqueous mesocarp extract the drier parts of India. It has been used since ages by the against Fasciola gigantica in goat was 93.20–97.7%. The tribes of Rajasthan and Haryana to cure several diseases characteristic lesions of liver fasciolosis, egg count per gram like whooping cough, sleeping sickness, guinea worm of faeces (EPG), packed cell volume (PCV) and total blood diseases and skin disorders. Economically also, it is a count were significantly different from those of control and very significant plant because various parts of this plant treated groups (P < 0.05).[53] The efficacy of B. aegyptiaca contain saponins, alkaloids and diosgenin (secondary fruit mesocarp (200 mg/kg) was compared with that of metabolites that have high pharmacological importance). praziquantel (200 mg/kg) in mice infected with Sudanese The pharmacological studies of B. aegyptiaca demonstrated strain of Schistosoma mansoni. A significant reduction was insecticidal, antibacterial, antifungal, hepatoprotective, observed in EPG, egg burden in tissues and recovery of anticancerous, antihelminthic, antiparasitic, antidiabetic adult worms (P < 0.05) for both the extract- and the drug- and anti-inflammatory activities of the plant. Research treated animals.[54] carried out using different in vitro and in vivo techniques of biological evaluation support most of these claims. B. Antiparasitic aegyptiaca may also act as a potential natural larvicidal agent

| July-September 2010 | International Journal of Green Pharmacy 144 Yadav and Panghal: Balanites aegyptiaca: A review against mosquito larvae, owing to the presence of saponins 15. Chapagain BP, Wiesman Z. Determination of saponins in the kernel which are effective in mosquito control, safe to mammals cake of Balanites aegyptiaca by HPLC-ESI/MS. Phytochem Anal and available in high concentration in B. aegyptaica. So, this 2007;18:354-62. 16. Chapagain BP, Wiesman Z. Variation in diosgenin level in seed plant can be used as a drug in mosquito control. kernels among different provenances of Balanites aegyptiaca Del (Zygophyllaceae) and its correlation with oil contents. Afr J India can benefit enormously if we can build a Golden Biotechnol 2005;4:1209-13. Triangle among Modern Science, Modern Medicine and 17. Desai KG, Desmukh UK, Saoji AN. Studies on diosgenin contents Traditional Medicine.[62] Indeed, triangles are a popular of B.aegyptaica. East Pharm 1978;21:191-3. [63] 18. 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